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Dec
18
Give the Gift of Education this Holiday Season!
Posted by Editor | December 18, 2009 | Tags: Helping Out | Comments Off
Each year, hundreds of kids in Talamanca can’t start the first day of school because they are unable to purchase even the most basic school supplies. Education makes all the difference, these kids need your help.
Join in ATEC’s Fourth Annual Holiday School Supply Drive
You can gift the supplies to the drive (See the list of required school supplies for each student) or you can donate cash for the purchase of supplies to adopt a student on behalf of the person who already has everything. 100% of your gift goes straight to the supply drive, and in return, you get a lovely certificate honoring your generosity.
Either drop off needed materials at ATEC (see attached list of required supplies) or donate cash:
US$1+ buys some pens or a notebook, approx (we get supplies right from our sales man so we get a good deal)
$44.98 buys all of the school supplies for one kid for one year!
$77.56 buys all school supplies for 1 kid for & their school uniform & SHOES!
Any amount is Great!
Follow the progress of the drive on www.greencoast.com and www.ateccr.org
You can make a credit card donation right here:
Paypal donations are tax deductable in the USA through the non-profit 501c3 certification of this association called the Pura Vida Project! (donations on paypal we have to deduct their small fee.)
In Costa Rica:
Donations can be dropped off at ATEC and we’ll get you a factura timbrada (official receipt) or you can make deposits in one of the following bank accounts—HOWEVER Make sure you send us an email so we can make sure your deposit came through and so we can send you your certificate of thanks!
Banco Nacional:
Dollars account:
Asociación Talamanqueña de Ecotourism y Conservación 200 02 001 001534-6
Cuenta cliente: 151 001 200 200 15341
Colones Account: ENA ECOTURISTIC A PTO VIE 200-01-112-37434-2 ¢
Cuenta Cliente: 151 112 200 113 743 41
Banco San José ¢ Asoc Talamanqueña de Ecoturismo y Conserv 904548641
Please call us at 506-2750-0191 or 2750-0398 or write to atecmail@gmail.com for more info or if you want to put out the word on your website. More folks getting out the word, we’ll help more students!
Last year we were able to sponsor 110 kids in the schools of Coroma, el Parque, Katsi.
Thanks to donors so far this year and last year’s donors.
Dec
18
Area English Teacher Disappears
Posted by Editor | December 18, 2009 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | 1 Comment
 Someone tried to push the car of the educator into the Estrella River in Penshurt. Photo by Róger Amoretti courtesy of La Nación |
The teacher, Alexánder Obando Campos, lives in Batán de Matina. His car was discovered Wednesday morning beside the La Estrella river in Penshurt and police fear that he has been the victim of a crime.
The 31 year old is single and has no children. He works for the University of Costa Rica and the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) and also teaches in Amubri in the Talamanca mountains. He had planned to spend Tuesday night in Amubri yet his car was found more than 50 km away.
 Alexander Obando Campos |
The police don’t have any leads on the case but it appears that someone had tried to push his car, a recent model Peugot, into the river but then was stopped by a ditch and gave up the effort.
His brother Joseph stated that Alexander was not in trouble or afraid of anyone. But he did have an altercation with the guard at a gas station some days earlier. But there is no known connection.
“Work was his life. He was well loved and always prepared,” said his brother.
The OIJ asks anyone with any information on this case to call the OIJ at 2798-3936 or the Confidential Information Center at 800-8000-645.
More: La Nación: Policía teme por vida de profesor de UCR y UNED
Dec
16
Keep Them in “Suspense”
Posted by Barry | December 16, 2009 | Tags: Uncategorized | Comments Off
 As Timoteo walks across the bridge, you can get an idea of the broken wooden flooring. |
Suspension bridges are vital in the jungle. They can be constructed by volunteer labor, with assistance from a local contractor skilled at buying materials and working in jungle conditions.
Alex Fang and Bill Stefanacci, representing Surf For Life, visited here to work on a promotional video for Surf For Life, an organization that plans, among other things, to team up professional surfers and volunteers to raise money for projects requiring cash and labor to benefit people served by The Bridge.
Here’s information from Alex about Surf For Life, also called “S4L”:
Surf For Life is a non-profit organization designed to connect surfers and non-surfers with community service activities to create impact on an international level. Our Mission is to channel the interest and energy of individuals into teams that travel to various project sites where they serve as hands-on volun-tourists and goodwill advocates.
And some background Information from Bill Stefanacci.
Bill Stefanacci is an audio professional in San Francisco. He specializes in documentary and educational television and music production services for network producers. He also runs a free martial arts school and surfs whenever practical. Bill has been on the core Surf for Life Team for about a year and participated in the first S4L mission.
We spent some time with them talking about the types of projects that can be done by volunteers here at The Bridge.
We also took them over to meet Timoteo Jackson, a tribal elder. Timoteo told us about the suspension bridge near his home. A half-dozen families use the bridge to get from their homes on one side of the river, to work, school, medical attention, and food on the other. The bridge is in terrible shape.
As we walked across the bridge following Timo, Bill took a video of the bridge and its condition. You can see that video for yourself at the link below. It also contains an interview with Tom Franklin, owner of Bread & Chocolate, with his ideas for several projects that could benefit the youth of Puerto Viejo. And, I’m on there as well, talking about projects here, as well as a project to fix this bridge, and perhaps build another.
The video will take a little time to download, but please watch it! See the video at www.workingmedia.com/trip. Click on this link, which will take you to a page that says: “Download Surf for Life Movie, Right click here.”
We look forward to working on many projects with Alex and the S4L crew!
 Article by Barry Stevens. Barry, along with his wife Nanci Wright, are the team behind El Puente-The Bridge. This organization offers educational assistance, food, and microloans mainly to indigenous people in the Talamanca area of Costa Rica. Used together, these programs provide powerful support for families working together toward self-sufficiency. More information is available at www.elpuente-thebridge.org. |
Dec
8
Save our lifeguards so they can save you!
Posted by Zoë | December 8, 2009 | Tags: Community News, Helping Out | 2 Comments
The Cocles Lifeguard Project – What it is and why you should support it
Phase 1: Tragedy prompts action
The statistics could have made grisly headlines:
“5 people drown in 8 days on spectacular but deadly Cocles beach.”
Those tragic deaths around Easter 2001 on Cocles beach galvanized a few individuals into action to help prevent further loss of life. Dean, a lifeguard from the Baywatch beach area of USA and his girlfriend Rosario, organised a group of lifeguards, funded by local donations. The initial goal was to maintain one lifeguard per day. And so the Cocles Lifeguard project was born.
Phase 2: Training & Problems!
In 2002 Eddie Ryan and Charlie Wanger became involved, taking over from the founders. This second phase involved the National Association of Costa Rica Lifeguards, training local candidates to a professional level of expertise involving extensive in-water training and 1st Aid.
Cocles Lifeguard project funded half the cost of the lifeguard training course and candidates paid the remaining half in the understanding of employment once qualified. Seven candidates were trained.
However, things did not go smoothly. Three experienced lifeguards from the Central Valley (sent to Puerto Viejo to assist new candidates) became dissatisfied with the housing conditions and meagre salary, whilst the association wanted to take over the programme. Midway through the first collection drive the association lifeguards left town with the donations and over $US 2000 of equipment!
So it was back to the drawing board…
Phase 3: 2003 to Present situation.
The current program was initiated 25th August 2003. This involves a team of 3 lifeguards working a shift system, so that there are 2 lifeguards present from 09.00hrs to 17.00hrs each day, 7 days a week.
The administration is still voluntarily undertaken by Eddie Ryan but encouraging and obtaining adequate donations to fund the project remains a constant struggle.
The Financial Picture.
Despite a list of approximately 70 business donors, Cocles Lifeguard project has a current deficit of Colones 50,000 and operates at a loss of Colones 125,000 monthly. Although a certain number of businesses donate willingly and regularly, some cannot be relied upon to consistently contribute. From the 70 businesses currently listed only 31 have consistently contributed during 2009. Obviously this reflects important lost revenue with far reaching consequences.
The minimum monthly bill for running Cocles Lifeguard service now stands at approximately Colones 660,000. If the lifeguards can expect a small salary increase and in accordance with labour law would be paid Aguinaldo, Socio Seguro and Riesgos de Trabajo, the monthly bill would increase to approximately Colones 750,000.
The expenses can be broken down as follows:
• Salaries of Lifeguards: Currently paid Colones 11,000 per day. Lifeguards are responsible for their own Riesgos de Trabajo, Aguinaldo and Socio Seguro.
• Donations Collector: Paid 7% of donations collected.
• 1st Aid kit & Equipment: Incidental expenses for replacing 1st Aid supplies and equipment such as flags, fins and flotation boards.
So what does that mean for our Lifeguard Service?
| We need your help! • Local business and individuals are encouraged to contact Eddie Ryan at La Costa de Papito to pledge regular support. • Visitors and others who would like to make a one time donation can also do so by contacting Ryan or with a credit card on the Puerto Viejo Satellite donation page. Puerto Viejo Satellite will cover the credit card fees so that 100% of your donation will be passed onto the program • Watch here for information on the Christmas donations drive |
Due to the financial deficit, the lifeguard service was forced to cut back to 1 lifeguard per day instead of the required pair. The remaining 2 lifeguards of the team were laid off due to the inability to pay them. By laying them off for two months the project anticipated using the saved salaries to reinstate the full team for the busy month of December.
On 1st December 2009 the service was able to operate normally again with 2 lifeguards on duty.
A real problem here is that if these two qualified lifeguards cannot be permanently re-employed it is probable that they will find other work and become unavailable. Without a team of 3 lifeguards, the service is severely compromised.
An important point to remember is that it takes 2 lifeguards to offer a rescue service. A single lifeguard can only offer preventive services, due to the significant danger of rescuing a swimmer in trouble.
In conclusion, that means that our Lifeguard service is severely compromised and the lifeguards lack job security despite their commitment and the significant level of responsibility demanded of them.
A Noble Project.
Cocles beach is not only well known for exciting surfing (and strong rip tides) but also well documented in numerous travel guides/websites. Consequently it is visited by a large volume of people, locals and visitors alike. Wherever visitors are staying they are likely to spend some time on Cocles beach, if only because everyone from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo travels past it at one point or another and it is so immediately accessible. For an area such as this where survival depends on healthy tourism numbers, the need for a lifeguard service is obvious.
In conversation with Eddie, it was clear how committed he is to maintaining this invaluable service and his belief that it could be expanded to increase the safety at beaches from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. Justly proud of this service, he stated that this is the only community in Costa Rica that has kept a lifeguard programme running for so many years. Though there have times when Eddie felt like giving up on the problematic administration of the service, just last December Costa de Papito’s bartender got into serious difficulties at Cocles beach. He was rescued by the lifeguards and lived to swim another day.
Lifeguards have rescued more than 1,500 swimmers at Cocles beach since the service began. That is a lot of lives that have been saved. Estimates of how many deaths have been prevented run into the thousands.
Save our Lifeguards so they can Save you!
If this lifeguard service can not only be saved from extinction but expanded, the whole area stands to benefit – and not only by diminishing the number of deaths on the beaches.
But a salutary thought is that if this lifeguard service were to disappear through lack of funding, how would we feel the next time someone drowns? Without a lifeguard service there will certainly be too many ‘next times’.
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Many thanks to Eddie Ryan for all the information contained in this article and for giving so generously of his time and insights into Cocles Lifeguard project.
 Article by Zoë Courtier. Zoë along with her husband Tom Keller are the proprietors of Geckoes Rainforest River Lodge. Two luxurious holiday houses with private plunge pools in a magnificent rainforest and river setting minutes from Playa Cocles. More information at www.geckoeslodge.com |
Dec
8
Nearby restaurants & shopping now shown on hotel listings
Posted by Editor | December 8, 2009 | Tags: Site news | Comments Off
The Puerto Viejo Satellite website is always improving, we’re proud to have the most up to date and complete site for Costa Rica’s South Caribbean.
One neat feature recently added shows the distance nearest restaurants, shopping and services to each hotel or vacation rental listing. Take a look at any of the detail pages for any of our accommodations listings to see how it works. This way you can know before you book what kinds of things are nearby — and not miss any of the hidden gems in the area which may just be around the corner from your hotel but which you hadn’t noticed.
Here’s our Puerto Viejo Top Pick accommodations — click on any of them to see what the nearby businesses listing feature looks like:
Dec
1
Environment Ministry Office in Manzanillo Firebombed
Posted by Editor | December 1, 2009 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | 4 Comments
 The walls were partially burned but the type of material prevented the spread of the flames. Photo by Marvin Carvajal, courtesy La Nación |
The offices of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) in Manzanillo were attacked last Thursday night or Friday morning.
The attack occurred late at night or very early and only on Friday morning did the MINAET official, who was sleeping inside, discover that they had been attacked.
Luckily for the staff member, the flames did not ignite the walls and there was only minor damage. The windows, walls and floors are marked where you can see how the flames tried to spread.
Some locals have attributed the cause of the firebombing to frustration over the actions taken recently by MINAET regarding Hotels Suerre and Las Palmas.
Source: La Nación: Atentado con bomba molotov contra oficina del Minaet
Nov
24
Puerto Viejo Visitors for Regatta Greeted by Arts
Posted by Editor | November 24, 2009 | Tags: Arts & Culture, Sports | Comments Off
Puerto Viejo made the front page of yesterday’s La Nación. With the Caribbean coast receiving lots of attention and visitors as a result of the Transat regatta.
The first boat crossed the finish line last night in Limon. The boat Crêpes Whaou! crossed the finish line at 22:31, taking the multihull prize and the boat Safran crossed the finish line at 02:52 to take the monohull prize.
In Puerto Viejo, visitors were excited to see 12 large 3 m x 1.5 m (9.8 ft x 4.9 ft) format artworks with a nautical theme displayed at KOKi Beach Restaurant by renowned Costa Rican artists Mario Maffioli and Fabio Herrera.
Puerto Viejo, by Fabio Herrera, is one of the 12 artworks being displayed in the show. Photo courtesy La Nación.
Sources: La Nación: Arte recibe a visitantes de la regata Transat,
SailWorld.com: Safran first IMOCA Open 60 home in Transat Jacques Vabre, Yachte: First multihull home in Transat Jacques Vabre
Nov
21
Minister announces paving of 18km between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo
Posted by Editor | November 21, 2009 | Tags: Government and Politics, Transport | 5 Comments
Marco Vargas, the Minister of Public Works and Transportation, will being inspecting today emergency patching done on the 60 kilometers of the highway between the Limon airport and Puerto Viejo.
May travelers had been reporting the poor state of the road, which was loaded with potholes that made driving hazardous.
The Ministry (MOPT) has also announced the continuation of work on the 18 kilometers on road from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. The ministry release did not specify the amount of money to be invested in the project or the timeframe.
Today’s MOPT inspection coincides with the visit of President Arias to the Puerto Limon, where he will be on hand to receive the first racers of the Transat.
More: La Nacion: MOPT realiza bacheo de emergencia en ruta Limón – Puerto Viejo
Nov
20
Transtica Race to Finish in Puerto Viejo
Posted by Editor | November 20, 2009 | Tags: Community Calendar, Helping Out, Sports | 2 Comments
| November 26, 2009 |
Thirty-one runners from as far away as Canada, France and Australia arrived in Costa Rica this week to participate in the second running of the cross-country Transtica.
The race begins on Saturday in the central Pacific town of Manuel Antonio and crosses 250 kilometers of terrain to arrive in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side on Nov. 26. Runners travel either 20 or 40 km (equivalent to a half or a full marathon) each day, depending on the group they’ve chosen to compete with.
What makes the competition unique is not necessarily the distances or the difficulty of the race, but the fact that runners stop in select locations to participate in social projects.
More/Source: Tico Times: Coast-to-coast humanitarian run launches on Saturday
Nov
18
Internet Scammers Target Local Hotels
Posted by Editor | November 18, 2009 | Tags: Local Business News | 3 Comments
Español abajo
A number of local hotels and vacation rental properties have reported receiving reservation request emails which don’t ring true.
The request is generally for a large number of people and rooms and is on behalf of “clients”.
Other signs of of a fraudulent reservation request include:
• The request is usually written in awkward English, often very formal with language like “Dear Sir/Madam”
• Usually they will just email the property directly but there have been some instances where they are getting more sophisticated and are filling in the property’s reservation form or filling in the reservation form from the reserve link for the hotel on Puerto Viejo Satellite.
• Often the dates or the details or the booking are not specified or vague.
• They will offer to pay for the advance reservation all at once with a credit card.
Here’s an excerpt of an email that a local hotel forwarded me:
Dear sir ma, I will like to book for rooms in your place for my clients who will like to stay for some days in your country for business purpose .so i will really appreciate it if you can kindly get back to me with a good and urgent reply.Below is the details of my reservation. Reservation details Room Type. 3 Standard single rooms. check in :20/ 1/ 2010 check out:27 /1/ 2010 Number of guest…3 people. Days of stay…7 days Guest Names. Mr John Cole Mr Andre Martin Mrs Sandra Smith Thanks and get back to me fast with the total cost of the booking so that isend to you my credit card details. Note that all payment for the reservation shall be charged before the arrival of my clients. thanks Waiting for your reply soon Regards Mack Jones
If you write back, they will give you a credit card number and ask you to charge the room charges to it. Then they will contact you to cancel or change the reservation and ask you to refund them via Western Union or wire transfer, saying that the credit card they originally used has changed or some other excuse. The problem is that the credit card number they gave you originally was stolen and the amount will eventually be charged back (reversed) in full to you plus fees from the bank.
To protect yourself, never refund clients in another form of payment other than the way they paid in. If they paid using a particular credit card, refund via that method. Otherwise you’ll find that the credit card amount gets charged back to you by the bank some weeks later and you’ve already sent them money via Western Union or some other method.
If English isn’t the first language of whoever is replying to your reservation inquiries, they may have difficulty spotting these requests. I would recommend going over these guidelines with any staff answering emails and have them ask someone whose first language is English if the request looks genuine.
If it all sounds a little bit too good to be true, it probably is.
Algunos hoteles y casas de vacaciones han recibido correo electrónico solicitudes de reservas que no parece verdades.
Normalemente, La petición es para un gran número de personas y habitaciones y es en nombre de unos “clientes”.
Otros signos de una solicitud de reserva de fraude incluyen:
• La solicitud se suele escribir en Inglés torpe, a menudo muy formal con el lenguaje como “Dear Sir/Madam”
• Por lo general, enviaremos un correo electrónico directamente al hotel, pero ha habido algunos casos en los que son cada vez más sofisticados y están rellenando el formulario de propiedades de reserva o rellenando el formulario de reservas desde el enlace de reserva para el hotel en Puerto Viejo Satellite.
• Muchas veces, las fechas o los detalles de la reserva o no se especifican o son vagos.
• Ofrecerán a pagar por la reserva con una tarjeta de crédito.
Aquí es un extracto de un correo electrónico que un hotel local me transmitió:
Dear sir ma, I will like to book for rooms in your place for my clients who will like to stay for some days in your country for business purpose .so i will really appreciate it if you can kindly get back to me with a good and urgent reply.Below is the details of my reservation. Reservation details Room Type. 3 Standard single rooms. check in :20/ 1/ 2010 check out:27 /1/ 2010 Number of guest…3 people. Days of stay…7 days Guest Names. Mr John Cole Mr Andre Martin Mrs Sandra Smith Thanks and get back to me fast with the total cost of the booking so that isend to you my credit card details. Note that all payment for the reservation shall be charged before the arrival of my clients. thanks Waiting for your reply soon Regards Mack Jones
Si escribes de nuevo, se le dará un número de tarjeta de crédito y le pedirá que cargue la sala de cargos a la misma. Entonces se pondrá en contacto con usted para cancelar o modificar la reserva y le pedirá a la devolución a través de Western Union o transferencia bancaria, diciendo que la tarjeta de crédito que ha utilizado originalmente ha cambiado o alguna otra excusa. El problema es que el número de tarjeta de crédito que le dieron originalmente fue robado. Últimamente, el banco se invertirá la carga en totalidad y el hotel se ha perdido el dinero que había sido enviado a través de Western Union.
Para protegerse no reembolsar a sus clientes en otra forma de pago distintos de manera que pagaron. Si paga con tarjeta de crédito en particular, el reembolso a través de ese método al mismo tarjeta.
Yo recomendaría que revise estas directrices con todo el personal cuya incumba la responsabilidad incluye la respuesta de correo electrónico. Si no está seguro, deben preguntarle a alguien que es el primer idioma es el Inglés si la petición parece auténtico.
Si una repuesta suena demasiado bueno para ser verdad, probablemente lo es.
Nov
9
Motorcycle accident claims two lives
Posted by Editor | November 9, 2009 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters | Comments Off
An accident on Friday night tragically claimed the lives of two young men when the motorcycle they were riding hit a post.
The victims were identified as Humberto Traña Medrano and Guillermo Quesada. They were apparently best friends who worked together at a local restaurant and played on a soccer team together.
They were leaving work to return home and change clothes when they came around a corner and encountered a slow moving vehicle. In trying to avoid hitting the vehicle they hit the post instead. According to the Red Cross, they were both instantly killed.
The accident happened 200 meters south of the entrance of town, in front of Abastecedor El Cruce.
More: La Nación: Motociclistas mueren al chocar contra un poste
Nov
6
Check out our new shopping page
Posted by Editor | November 6, 2009 | Tags: Site news | Comments Off
We’ve created a shopping page on the Puerto Viejo Satellite site so you can easily find what you’re looking for. Head there to find out where to go, to get phone numbers, etc.
If your favorite place to shop isn’t listed, please feel free to add it.
Nov
6
Artists Fabio Herrera & Mario Maffioli to exhibit at KOKi Beach
Posted by Editor | November 6, 2009 | Tags: Arts & Culture, Community Calendar | 5 Comments
| November 21, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | ||
| 6:00 pm |
World renowned Costa Rican artists Fabio Herrera & Mario Maffioli will present their exhibit “Nautica” at KOKi Beach Restaurant from Nov 21 to Nov 29.
Both painters are well known in Costa Rica and abroad for their abstract painting. Fabio Herrera has been called the “the most important abstract painter in Costa Rica”.
The exhibit opens at 6pm on Nov 21.
Nov
6
Chain stores come to Puerto Viejo
Posted by Editor | November 6, 2009 | Tags: Uncategorized | 11 Comments
Until now Puerto Viejo had been completely free of chain stores, with a mix of local stores and restaurants opened by longtime residents and by ex-pats. But with the Mega Super about to open right in downtown, that’s about to change.
Construction has also started downtown (on the lot south of the new KOKi Beach Restaurant behind the Artisans Market stands) on a new AM/PM Market.
The new Mega Super about to open in Puerto Viejo
Construction site of the new AM/PM Market
Nov
4
Public Hearing re Suerre and Las Palmas set for Nov 27
Posted by Editor | November 4, 2009 | Tags: Community Calendar, Economic Development, Local Business News | 4 Comments
| November 27, 2009 |
A high court ruling on Monday afternoon was what led to the suspension of the eviction and demolition proceedings on Hotels Suerre and Las Palmas. More than 120 officials from the police, fire and coast guard who had arrived along with work crews went home on Tuesday to await the court’s final decision.
But the ruling was a temporary injunction only while the court studies the issue more. The next step will be a public hearing for all involved parties set for November 27.
The high court originally ordered the demolition of the two hotels in 2001. But action on this has been suspended by 11 injunctions, two lawsuits, one habeas corpus writ and now Monday afternoon’s ruling.
More: Tico Times: Caribbean hotels saved by high court halt on demolition
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